Anyone who has struggled with depression will relate.
By Madelyn Rennie — Written on Oct 04, 2016
It's hard sometimes figuring out who we are and believing in it. With all those celebrities out there, politicians, the media telling us who we're supposed to be, it's hard discovering that for ourselves.
But having faith in who we are is a huge key to our happiness and success.
Instagram poet Rose Luiten does an incredible job of helping people get in touch with themselves and believing in who they are deep down. Luckily, I was able to get an interview with Rose and have the opportunity to pick her brain about what her writing means to her.
Q: When did you first begin writing?
RL: I've always written, to be honest, but only started writing consistently about 2-3 years ago. Before that, I'd write sporadically, always poems. I remember my favorite classes in school were English and creative writing. I even took a few semesters in college before starting my family.
Q: What is the best part of writing for you?
RL: The best part of writing for me is the therapeutic effect it has. I write to cope, so that's why some of my works are on the more depressing side, because that's when I need it the most.
Q: How do you struggle within your writing? What obstacles have you had to overcome?
RL: I struggle to write consistently. I struggle to find inspiration and it only gets worse when I force it. It needs to come as it will and I have a hard time accepting that.
As for obstacles in my writing, I'd have to say that the hardest thing for me has been to express my emotions properly. I'm quite shy, so opening up and being vulnerable was something that took time and took some getting used to. It scared me at first, but when I saw the effect it had on my readers it became easier. People really appreciate honesty and vulnerability and those are the two things I strive for when I write.
Q: What inspires you the most?
RL: It might seem strange to say, but my depression inspires me the most. Maybe because writing is writing is such a good outlet for when I'm down. I always write the most when I'm in a depressed state.
I was diagnosed with bipolar type 2 a few years ago and depression is a big part of that diagnosis. It is one of my main symptoms. So, writing is one of my most important coping tools.
Q: How has writing changed or affected your life?
RL: Writing has changed my life in that it has taught me about myself. I often don't know how I feel about something until I pen it down onto paper and reread what I wrote. It gives me clarity. Writing has been nothing but a positive force in my life and I have come to need it like I need oxygen.
Q: Where do you see yourself in the future?
RL: The future is such a huge unknown to me. There are so many things I still want to achieve in this life, like going back to school, publishing a few books of poetry, and watching my children grow up and achieve their own life goals.
Rose knows what it's like to fight our own demons and her writing does an incredible job of showing how much we need to appreciate who we are at our core. We've collected some of our favorite pieces of her below.
If you're searching for the best quotes and memes to share with the people you love (or just want to feel inspired yourself) ... look no further! From the sweetest love quotes, inspirational sayings, and hilarious friendship truths, we've got you covered.
Photo: Instagram
"I have cried out in joy as I have lifted my seconds old daughter from the water in which she was born. Never, have I felt as alive as in that moment. The power, the peace, the way the world stops and stands still so that I can stare at my new creation for infinity in those few seconds as she releases her first cry against my breasts and I cry in tune to her victory song of life. I will never live as fully as I lived in those moments. And I have no regrets."
— Rose C.L.
Photo: Instagram
"We are selfish souls taking solace in knowing we do not suffer alone whether it be heartbreak, disease, grief, we are never alone. Reach out a timid hand and you will find ten thousand others ready to hold you close in words and thoughts for they know the pain you feel deep down in your heart, in your gut, in your soul."
— Rose C.L.
Photo: Instagram
"I'd rather not begin to forget that first fall we fell in love. We'd surrendered to the sweater weather, cold hands pressed together over coffee cups. The summer days of sunburnt shoulders were over and we knew that endings always mean the start of something new."
— Rose C.L.
Photo: Instagram
"We need to find warmth where we can. Our hands wrapped around a mug of coffee. Our bodies wrapped in our favorite sweater. Our eyes, catching the warmth in our lover's gaze. It's a cold world we live in. Find the warmth."
— Rose C.L.
Photo: Instagram
"Touch me like a blind man, who reaches out his hands, fingers lightly tracing the face of the one he loves. The familiar turns and grooves of cheekbones and nose, lips and chin. Touch me to remember. Touch me to forget. "
— Rose C.L.
Photo: Instagram
"Creep down to the black corners, the corridors unexplored, and find what once was lost. These dark recesses hold the secrets you wish would disappear but it isn't quite that simple. So write something out of nothing. The hallways and trapdoors hide much too much of you."
— Rose C.L.
Photo: Instagram
"Set your eyes outside of the eye of the storm. You've passed it now and continue down a brightening path. A difficult walk it surely has been, but each day brings new joys into view whether huge and grand or simple and small. Find beauty in them all. Find beauty in you."
— Rose C.L.
Photo: Instagram
"Is it okay if I love your skin and bones; this home for the soft tones of your soul?"
— Rose C.L.
Photo: Instagram
"I'm bipolar, and part of me believes it is caused by my nomadic heart. My emotions can never settle for long. Between my rapid cycling and mixed episodes, my mind is forever wandering between two poles. There's no rest. There's no time to settle in or settle down in whichever mood my brain stops on. Do I grow weary? Yes. There is no time for complacency in my whirlwind world. It's not that I wouldn't have it any other way, it's who I am, and if I can't learn to live with that, well, who would ever want to learn to live with me?"
— Rose C.L.
Photo: Instagram
"We weren't meant to waver like rippled reflections in early spring as water striders worked their way across the waves. We were meant to sit in the crooks of trees like rooks without queens, like crowns atop towers and birds perched beside open window panes."
— Rose C.L.